Yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, was also a big day for the men's ministry at my Church. Once a year we have a "Communion Breakfast" for men, not only from our Church, but also from surrounding Churches. The whole morning is set up by men for men and focuses each year on two men from our Church and their personal stories of faith and how it has either helped them get through difficult times or how their faith has grown through their lives. It is a rare occurrence to see close to 200 men gathered in one place without sports as the focus, rather, to listen to two other men share their stories. This year was a little different than previous years in that we had to move the entire event due to the blizzard we had in February. Despite moving the day about 5 weeks, we still had a good turn out and I think that everyone was able to walk away with something that might be able to help them in their own faith journey's. All in all, it was a good day. That being said, I am part of the men's ministry team that coordinates this whole event and spends about 4.5 months preparing for it. Through meetings, discussions, planning, and of course the inevitable cocktail at the end of every meeting, we are able to pull this day off, usually without a hitch. Yesterday we were shorthanded as a number of the men on our team were unable to be there either due to schedule conflicts or sickness. Setting everything up and ensuring that it ran smoothly consequently fell on the shoulders of much fewer men than usual. Needless to say, it was a little more chaotic than usual. We managed to get everything set up and ready right around the time that the 180 men started coming through the doors. There are always the last minute hiccups that need to be dealt with and with fewer men to share the burden, those of us there were running around a bit more than usual. For those of us who weren't on the team, I'm sure that everything seemed to run smoothly, and for the most part it did. I actually got to sit down, eat breakfast, and listen to the men share their stories. That was the part of the morning that I enjoyed the most. Then it was time to clean up. Back to running around, getting things tidied up, cleaned up, and put back in our cars so the Marriott could have their ballroom back.
It was right about the time that I looked out across the ballroom, saw that everything was done, that I started getting tired. The yawns started coming, yet I wasn't quite done yet. As is the tradition for the team after the breakfast, we went to the bar and had a drink. It was good to relax a little bit after the hectic morning before going our separate ways, back to our families, and back to our normal Sunday responsibilities. On the ride home, I thought I would be OK for the afternoon. However, there was nothing that could have prepared me for how tired I was when I walked through the back door into our house. Despite the fact that I wanted to spend quality time with our son, play with him, enjoy him all afternoon, I was absolutely wiped. Even standing up I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. My whole body just wanted to lay down and sleep. I didn't realize how much the morning had both mentally and emotionally drained me. It took everything I had and left me with nothing for the afternoon. I felt horrible that I couldnt' be more of a help to my wife in watching our son, cleaning up the house, and taking care of normal things. I just couldn't. Luckily my wife was extremely understanding, and even let me take a short nap in the afternoon. Even though I thought the nap might help, it was about 40 minutes, it did absolutely nothing to diminish my exhaustion. I even had a cup of coffee after that in hopes of waking up a bit. What would normally give me a little kick in the but did absolutely nothing. I was essentially a useless blob of flesh. My wife cooked dinner, took care of me, and by 8 in the evening I was headed up to bed for the night.
The thing is, I am not used to being drained emotionally and mentally like I was yesterday. I am used to being physically tired, however, with that kind of tired I can usually struggle through and still function at some sort of normal level. With the emotional and mental draining, however, I just can't handle it and my body tells me quite strongly that it needs rest. I am just glad I don't have to deal with that kind of tiredness on a regular basis. Yet despite the exhaustion I felt yesterday, I would do it all over again because being a part of the men's ministry team is important to me. It not only helps me on my faith journey, it allows me to forge stronger bonds with other men, the kind of which I don't get outside the Church. There is a distinct openness that occurs between the men, more so than most other friends of mine, and it is something that I find is necessary to me in order to function the way I do. It may not make sense to everyone, but as much as I cherish my relationship with my wife, I also need to have a strong relationship with other men, to have people I can talk to besides my wife who will understand me on a different level. The more I delve into the relationships I have formed with other men from my Church, the stronger I become as a whole. I feel more balanced, more capable of dealing with any issues that may arise, all because I know that there are men who I call friends who have probably gone through similar situations to what I have gone through and are more than willing to support me in what I need. I don't really get that with most of my friends outside the church. It may seem odd, but it is what it is. Yesterday morning, despite draining me emotionally and mentally, also strengthened the bonds I have with the other men at my church. It is something unique that doesn't happen very often. For now, at least, I need to get back to my normal life, getting my family ready for the day, and back to normal life.
No comments:
Post a Comment